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Glenn Close Donates $75,000 After Orlando Shooting

Entertainment

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Courtesy of WENN Newsdesk

Glenn Close has donated $75,000 to a charity in Florida following the mass shooting in Orlando earlier this month.

The 69-year-old actress made the generous contribution to the Mental Health Association of Central Florida organization, which will use the money to fund counseling for those affected and impacted after Omar Mateen opened fire in Pulse nightclub on June 12, killing 49 people and injuring 53 more.

Close attended the association’s annual Legacy of Champions Luncheon last week and announced her donation after serving as the keynote speaker at the event.

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The Damages actress is one of countless stars who have voiced their support for the victims and their families following the tragic shootings. Christina Aguilera recently announced that she will donate the proceeds for her new single “Change” to victims, while Broadway stars including Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sarah Jessica Parker have teamed up to record a track benefiting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) community in Orlando.

The famous faces, including Matthew Broderick, Sara Bareilles, Carole King, Chita Rivera, Rosie O’Donnell, Kristen Bell, Bernadette Peters, Gloria Estefan, Sutton Foster, and Sean Hayes, lend their voices to the cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s 1965 hit “What the World Needs Now Is Love” for the cause.

The stars recorded their parts in studios in New York, Los Angeles and Miami on Wednesday, and a music video was released on Friday. The track is now available for purchase, and 100 percent of the proceeds from sales will go to the LGBT Center of Central Florida.

Creator of musical Disaster! Seth Rudetsky and his producer husband James Wesley spearheaded the project, and were inspired by 1985 charity single “We Are The World” to quickly rally their famous friends together for the song.

“The Broadway community was so terribly shaken and devastated by the horrific tragedy in Orlando, everyone wanted to do something as quickly as possible that would truly make a difference,” Rudetsky said in a statement. “We started making calls, and suddenly we had tons of theater actors along with an orchestra and the services of a fully-staffed recording studio, all willing to donate their time and talent.”

“Our community of artists has banded together as we always do to show we can end this cycle of violence and intolerance. Love WILL prevail!”